Name: Woodcock in Red Wine
Yield: For four people
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 320 ml (½ pint) red Bordeaux from the Pomerol district or Algerian red wine or Spanish red wine; 1 tablespoon armagnac; 50 g (1¾ oz) butter; salt and pepper; 2 generous tablespoons double cream; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 1 level tablespoon chopped shallot; 4 good slices of lean streaky bacon for barding; 4 tablespoons armagnac; 4 woodcock, plucked but not drawn; 4 thin slices of white bread cut into 5 cm (2 inches) diameter rounds with a pastry-cutter; 50 g (1¾ oz) fresh or preserved foie gras; 4 tablespoons port

Preparation info

For
four
people

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Cuisine Gourmande

By Michel Guérard

Published 1978

About

Bécasse au fumet de pomerol ‘The king of gamebirds’

Ingredients

Main ingredients

4 woodcock, plucked but not drawn
salt and pepper
4 good slices of lean streaky bacon

Method

Preparing and cooking the woodcock

Pluck the woodcock just before cooking; it is not necessary to singe them, it’s a waste of time. Above all, do not draw them. The heads should be left on but the eyes must be removed. A woodcock is not trussed, its claws are entangled together, and the thighs held close to its sides by transfixing t